Photos Galore: Second-Annual 86 Style Event at Fuji Speedway

You may be living through the quickest performance turnaround in the history of any car company. Sixteen months ago, the ZN6 Scion FR-S/Toyota 86/GT86, whatever you want to call it, went on sale. Prior to that, many felt Toyota was inconsiderate to the performance enthusiast. Today, innumerable hearts are throbbing for Toyota performance. In just a matter of 16 months, an entirely new subculture within the hachiroku scene has formed to celebrate the newest addition to the Toyota performance bloodline. The way the ZN6 cars have hit the market is analogous to the way a new baby hits the royal family, and thus the entire world. At least with the new 86s, we’re spared the annoying tabloid-news clatter.

Considering this royal baby thing more, I’m starting to think that out of all cars ever built, the ZN6 is the most “human”. Hear me out: the new 86 went on sale 25 years after the last AE86 was produced. People often have their first child at 25 years old, so in the car world’s spiritual realm, your FR-S is the AE86’s first-born child — the cherished offspring of Japan’s sports car sales charts king. On the other hand, the Subaru BRZ is the illegitimate love child we love by default.

Besides the great handling, and all the other aesthetic and tangible traits that make the new hachirokus appealing, I think people can sense the ZN6’s human-like heritage. For that reason, the FR-S/86, a Toyota product, casts the most powerful spell of any car on the market today – let’s call the spell “86-Degree Fever”. Granted, a Ferrari 458 Italia may be more appealing, and it may have that racing lineage that gets people all gaga, but its heritage is not as human as the 86’s, which means it is not as lovable; therefore, a Ferrari 458 casts a weaker spell than an FR-S/GT86/86.

Eighty-six-degree fever can be evidenced at the second-annual 86 Style event recently captured by Speedhunters at Fuji Speedway. Enjoy the visual gold in the gallery below.

via [Speedhunters]